Former Port, A's prospect gets higher calling

Saturday

OAKLAND - Oakland Athletics prospect Grant Desme, who played for the Stockton Ports in 2009, is retiring from baseball to enter the priesthood.

OAKLAND - Oakland Athletics prospect Grant Desme, who played for the Stockton Ports in 2009, is retiring from baseball to enter the priesthood.

Desme was selected the 2009 Arizona Fall League MVP and was considered one of the top prospects in Oakland's system.

The 23-year-old outfielder batted .288 with 31 homers, 89 RBI and 40 stolen bases in 131 games at Class-A Kane County and Stockton last season. He then hit .315 with a league-leading 11 home runs and 27 RBI in 27 games in the fall league.

Desme said he'd been thinking about the priesthood for a year and a half.

"It took me a while to get to," he said on a conference call Friday.

Desme plans to enter a seminary in August and hopes eventually to become a Catholic priest. "It's about a 10-year process," he said. In a way, he added, it's like "re-entering the minor leagues."

Desme told Oakland general manager Billy Beane about his decision on Thursday.

At Sacramento, James Lake made 12 field goals, including six from 3-point range, and scored a game-high 37 points to lead the Mustangs (13-6, 4-1 Big 8) to the overtime win. Dante Miller had 23 points, and Anthony Simi and Josh Duckens had 11 each.

At St. Mary's, the Rams led 47-8 at halftime and improved to 13-7 overall and 4-0 in the Tri-City Athletic League. Sean Fenner led St. Mary's balanced scoring with 11 points, and Alex Simmons had 10. Jamen Jones led the Delta Kings (7-14, 1-3) with a game-high 19 points.

At Edison, the Vikings (10-9, 2-1 TCAL) held on to a slim lead to beat the Wolf Pack (13-8, 2-2). Evan Renfro led Edison with 25 points, and Patrick Phillips scored 25 for West.

At Sierra, Marcus Woods scored a team-high 18 points and Jason Steele had 16 for Weston Ranch (10-8, 6-1 Valley Oak League), which earned is sixth win in seven games to remain in a first-place tie with Manteca. Will Ward led all scorers with 23 points for Sierra (11-7, 4-3).

At East Union, Ernie Pimentel led the Buffaloes (13-5, 6-1 VOL) with 19 points and Kiwi Gardner had 17 as Manteca won for the sixth timein seven games.

At Chavez, Michael James led all scorers with 22 points to lead the Bulldogs (8-10, 2-2 San Joaquin Athletic Association) past the Titans. ThomasWallace scored 19 for Chavez.

At Elliot Christian, the Eagles' Brandon Winch returned to the court after being sidelined for over six weeks with a broken leg to score 10 points, and Bubba Wall had 18 to lead Elliot Christian (9-8, 5-1 Harvest Christian League) past the Patriots (3-10, 1-4).